"If you truly believe in global warming, you’re going to have an issue being in real estate in South Florida. "

-- William Hardin, a professor of real estate at Florida International University

While most residents in South Florida still have no worries that global warming could dramatically lower housing prices, land-use attorney Sam Poole has already developed a plan to sell his house in a low-lying Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.

Poole has heard some scientists predict that the first financial effects are probably two decades away, and he wants to sell in about 10 years, well before panic sets in, assuming governments do nothing quickly to combat climate change.

“I don’t want to wait too long,” he says.

In fact, some leading South Florida scientists project the first effects are one decade away, not two, but Poole’s concern about sea level remains a rarity among homeowners in South Florida, where property values continue to boom in waterfront neighborhoods.

There are hints, however, that the real estate industry is preparing for change.